Family-Outdoors

Oklahoma's pheasant hunting season will open Tuesday, Dec. 1, and hunters planning to pursue this exotic species should find more birds to hunt this year, based on more optimistic results from annual roadside surveys conducted by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.     "There will be a fair number of adult birds to hunt this year in the areas that usually hold good pheasant numbers," said Scott Cox, upland game biologist for the Wildlife   The ring-necked pheasant was introduced in Oklahoma in 1911.  Hunters can pursue cock pheasants in open areas from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31. "The pheasant numbers are rising slowly. If we have a fairly mild winter and another cool and wet summer, then pheasant numbers should start to rebound like we have seen with the quail population."     The Wildlife Department conducts two pheasant surveys: a count of the number of crowing male birds heard per mile along 20-mile routes during April and May, and a count of ...

PIERRE, S.D. –  South Dakota’s “army of orange” was out in full force for the opening day of pheasant season.  With the annual pheasant brood survey up 42 percent from 2014, friends and family shared plenty of pheasants, fun and fellowship. “The traditions of South Dakota’s opening day of pheasant season are known worldwide,” said South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Kelly Hepler.  “It’s one of the reasons I came back to the state.  The comradery, the laughter, the food and the chance to chase the wily ringneck with lifelong and even new friends is a special occasion.  It is really second to none.” According to GFP’s survey, traditional pheasant hunting areas such as Winner, Pierre, Mobridge and Mitchell all showed at least 40 percent increases in the pheasants-per-mile index.  Other popular pheasant destinations such as Chamberlain and Huron had well over 30 percent increases.  All areas evaluated in the brood report showed a minimum o...

Pheasant Recipes Iowa pheasants have enjoyed a good two-year run of milder winters leading to the highest bird numbers since 2008, but that run of good luck can’t last forever. Weather and habitat are keys to bird survival and over the last eight years Iowa has lost 500,000 acres of CRP statewide. “We’re trying to keep as many CRP acres as we can,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland game bird biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  Land in CRP is often cyclical - removed when crop prices are high and enrolled when prices are low. With corn prices in the mid-$3 range, Bogenschutz expects to see more interest in the program. A general CRP signup is expected in December will have around 24 million acres available nationally, down from 32 million acres from previous signups, meaning landowners will likely need to higher environmental benefits scores and have better cover types to get their offers accepted. While the general CRP signup is a few months away, exi...

North Dakota’s two-day youth pheasant season is  Oct. 3-4 . Legally licensed residents and nonresidents ages 15 and younger may hunt roosters statewide. Resident youth hunters, regardless of age, must possess a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate and general game and habitat license. N onresident youth hunters from states that provide a reciprocal licensing agreement for North Dakota residents qualify for North Dakota resident licenses. Otherwise, nonresident youth hunters must purchase a nonresident small game license. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Youth ages 12 and older need to have passed a certified hunter education course. The daily bag limit and all other regulations for the regular pheasant season apply. An adult at least 18 years of age must accompany the youth hunter in the field. The adult may not carry a firearm. See the  2015 North Dakota Small Game Hunting Guide  for additional information. Related ar...

North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August indicates total birds and number of broods are up statewide from 2014. Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the survey shows total pheasants are up 30 percent from last year. In addition, brood observations were up 23 percent, while the average brood size was up 9 percent. The final summary is based on 259 survey runs made along 105 brood routes across North Dakota. “Our late summer roadside counts indicate pheasant hunters are going to find more birds in the southern half of the state this fall, with the southwest having the strongest population of young roosters,” Kohn said. “Hunters will also find average habitat conditions on the landscape.” Statistics from southwestern North Dakota indicate total pheasants were up 34 percent and broods observed up 31 percent from 2014. Observers counted 25 broods and 207 birds per 100 survey miles. The ave...

Iowa’s pheasant harvest increased 30 percent in 2014 to an estimated 216,000 roosters, marking the third harvest increase in a row for the popular game bird. Hunter numbers also increased an estimated nine percent to more than 63,000 small game hunters in 2014. The harvest and participation estimates are based on an annual survey of hunters following the season. “I think some of our former pheasant hunters are taking the wait-and-see approach or our harvest could have been even better. Hopefully, they won’t stay on the sidelines much longer,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources who led the survey. Bogenschutz said he has received a lot of reports from people seeing roosters this spring leading him to think there were some missed opportunities last fall.  “Our August pheasant survey has increased three years in a row, indicating that the population is rebounding from the bad winter and spring weather from 2007-11,...

North Dakota’s spring pheasant population index is up 10 percent from last year, according to the State Game and Fish Department’s 2015 spring crowing count survey. Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor, said the number of roosters heard crowing this spring was up statewide, with increases ranging from about 2 to 12 percent in the primary regions holding pheasants. “A much improved production year for pheasants in spring 2014, coupled with the mild winter, produced a healthy breeding population this spring,” Kohn said. While the spring number is a positive indicator, Kohn said it does not predict what the fall population will look like. Brood surveys, which begin in mid-July and are completed by September, provide a much better estimate of summer pheasant production and what hunters might expect for a fall pheasant population. Kohn mentioned a higher breeding population is good for production if the weather cooperates and nesting habitat is available. “This spri...

DES MOINES  - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is hosting a public meeting over the Iowa Communications Network on February 25 from 6 to 9 p.m., to listen to the public’s thoughts on the hunting and trapping regulations for this fall.   These meetings are part of the process for making rules in state government. “Any rule changes must be discussed with Iowa’s citizens who might be impacted by the changes before the rule changes are proposed. The process helps ensure that rule changes serve the public’s wishes and do not impact Iowa’s economy,” said Dr. Dale Garner, chief of the wildlife bureau. At each meeting DNR staff will facilitate a discussion about what went well last fall, what didn’t, and what changes hunters and trappers would like to see for this fall. These discussions along with the data that the wildlife bureau collects on harvest and population numbers will be used to develop recommendations for any rule changes this fall. Any changes must be ...

DES MOINES  – The 2015 National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic returns to Des Moines, February 20-22, at the Iowa Events Center. The Department of Natural Resources is a proud sponsor of the event, put on by Pheasants Forever, a leading conservation organization and DNR partner in conservation efforts in Iowa. The event  focuses on wildlife conservation, upland game bird hunting (pheasant and quail), dog training, and wildlife habitat management and restoration, with seminars, demonstrations, activities and vendors supporting these topics. The event promises to have something for the whole family. DNR personnel, including wildlife biologists, foresters, conservation officers, recreational safety officers and conservation educators, will be on hand at a variety of venues throughout the weekend. DNR staff will be at the DNR booth to answer questions of the public, and at the Habitat Help Room to give one-on-one habitat advice to interested landowners.  Kids...

Annual roadside quail surveys have been completed for 2014, and the results are good news for quail hunters in Oklahoma. The statewide quail population index increased 66 percent from the previous year. Quail counts conducted in August and October showed higher numbers of birds in all of Oklahoma except the South-central region.    "We documented outstanding reproduction, and it looks like it will be one of the best seasons in a decade," said Richard Hatcher, director of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation .    Scott Cox, upland game biologist with the Wildlife Department, said the weather plays an important role in quail production. The past two years, Oklahoma has seen model years for rainfall and cooler temperatures during the spring and summer months, after previous years of hot and dry conditions.    The recent favorable weather conditions helped more birds carry over into the nesting season, and allowed those birds to have a chance f...

No crisp, frosty morning as you stepped into the switchgrass or crop stubble this past weekend. Opening day pheasant hunters packed in water…not hand warmers. And with a hefty hike in expected bird numbers this fall; some were even packing out a pheasant or three. “Most of the groups I checked Saturday morning had a bird; the groups with dogs,” assessed DNR conservation officer Brad Baker. He spent part of the day along the Iowa River Corridor, where low lying flood-prone acres have been purchased or taken out of row crops by easements in the last 15 years. “They were seeing birds today. The last two years, much of the Corridor was underwater (through much of the growing season),” Baker said. Upland game hunters have a great reason to head into the field this fall. Pheasant numbers, measured across 200 early morning, gravel road routes, are up a whopping 151 percent from last year’s record low. Much of that was due to increased winter survival and a hatch that made it through...